


B l e h

by Cryptit69



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryptit69/pseuds/Cryptit69
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

A soft bell rang through the small shop. A waft of hot chocolate and marshmallows greeted the customer as he stepped into the building, ducking out of the bitter cold and into the warmth of the pale yellow walls. A coffee dispenser, a tray of home-baked cookies, and a campfire candle greeted him at the door. The man smiled to himself, and followed the instructions of the hand written sign telling him to help himself to some goodies while he browsed.

Circular clothing racks and tables of assorted products filled the room. None of it looked like it had been built with him in mind. Even the tallest shelves were low enough for him to reach with ease, and the lowest would almost be an inconvenience. The table of treats itself sat nearly mid-thigh, and the front counter wasn’t much taller.

By the time he had a warm cup and a gingerbread cookie in his hand he was no longer alone in the room, and suddenly it all made sense. A woman whose head would have fit comfortably at his arm it stood behind the counter with the kindest smile he had ever seen. Platinum white hair made her skin even warmer and brighter in comparison. Dusty pink satin hung from her shoulders like a nightgown she had decided to wear to work, just barely made professional with a white cardigan. 

The same nightgown hung from a rack surrounded by lingerie, a realization that put a touch of pink on her customer’s cheeks.

“Hi! How are you today?” she asked with the genuine joy of someone that loves their job.

“Im alright. How are you?” her only customer answered as he stepped further into the store, nibbling on his cookie as he browsed.

“Can I ask who you’re stopping for? Is it something for you, or someone else?”

He glanced around at the jewelry, the glittery high heels, and back to the same rack of sleep wear, before picking up a random pink dress that was much too small for his form. “You really think I’m shopping for myself?”

The small woman laughed, but shrugged her shoulders. “You’d be surprised; it’s safer to never assume.” She walked out from behind the counter, and picked up a sky blue button-up shirt that was not only his size, but could almost be his style.

He put the dress back on the rack and continued to pace around, hoping to stumble across something that would jump out to him. “I’m actually shopping for my mom.”

The shop keeper’s eyes sparkled. “That’s so nice. What’s the occasion?”

“Her birthday’s this Friday.”

She looked him over, inspecting his black suit, silk tie, and even rubbing her chin while staring at his hair. The man cleared his throat, and smoothed out any wrinkles that might have presented themselves on his clothes while she scrutinized him.

“What are your plans for the big day?”

“We’re going to dinner.”

“Somewhere fancy?”

“I through your said ‘it’s safer to never assume’,” he teased with a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lip.

The woman approached him. She weaved through the store to stand directly beside him, making it impossible to ignore just how big the height gap between them was; she hardly seemed to notice. She placed a hand on his arm, and pulled his wrist closer to her face. 

“You’re wearing a Burberry suit and a Tiffany watch. I don’t even know why you’re in my shop, honestly. You could probably buy the whole store without maxing out your card.”

He smiled shyly, but pride shone in his eyes. “You really know your stuff. I’m just looking to get her something a little more personal.”

“Sibling?”

“I have three older brothers.”

She whistled and walked away from him, closer to a rack of coats and jackets. “You won’t want to buy her clothes-you want her to be able to wear it at dinner- unless you buy a jacket, or a coat that she wear out. But she’ll already have a coat, most likely. There’s a really nice jewelry shop down the street that makes gorgeous personalized pieces. Normally they need more than three days,”

He shot her a guilty grimace.

“but for the right price they could give you something good. You can give that to her at dinner, but you’ll have to hope no one else gets her the same piece. Personally, one of my favourite options is a home spa kit.”

“Couldn’t I just get her a spa day then?”

The shop keeper stopped and spun in her heels, turning her whole body to face him. “Spa’s are nice, but she doesn’t want to leave the house every time she wants to treat herself. Trust me. A day at home to pamper herself can be just as nice- even better if she’s not used to it. I have a friend that makes the most gorgeous home spa kits: soap, bath salts, hair and skin care, candles. You can even get champagne and those fancy spa slippers with it if you want.”

Her over-customer picked up a scarf and looked it over before trying his hardest to fold it back to the way he had found it. “You’re not a very good business woman. You haven’t recommended a single thing from your shop yet.”

“I’d rather have someone leave here happy and come back for more advice than walk out with something I talked them into buying.”

“In that case. What do you usually get your mom for her birthday?”

She made her way back to behind the counter. He followed.

“Depends which one. Mama I usually take for a spa date.”

“You just said-“

She raised her hand and waived her finger. “I said don’t buy her a spa day. I hate her for some mother-daughter time, and we spend the whole day together. You can take her to the spa, if you spend the whole time with her.”

He made a face.

“Mum I usually take to dinner. I don’t really buy them anything unless it really stand out; they have everything I could ever think to get them. As for my mother, I just get her something small: a card and a pair of earrings, or something for the kitchen.”

The customer picked up a business card from the counter and skimmed over the words. “Which is your mother-in-law?”

She laughed and shocker her head. “No, every time I meet someone my siblings end up scaring them off. Mama and Mum adopted me, and recently my biological mom has come back into the picture, so I have lots of experience with birthday and Mother’s Day gifts. Luckily I don’t haven many people coming in for Father’s Day present, because I’d have no idea where to even start.”

“In that case, I’ll take your advice, Strix,” he smiled and help up the small card, excited to have found her name, “and I’ll give you a call next time I have questions.”

“Good luck. I hope you find something good.”

He tucked the card into his pocket, and left.

~~~~

One week later to the date, almost the time, the store phone began to ring. Strix hurried away from a curious customer to pick it up. She answered with the usual warm, kind greeting, the store’s name, and ask how she could help. Instead of getting an immediate answer to her question, she heard.

“Please hold for Abraxas.”

She gave the customer a confused look, but they didn’t react. 

There was a click, and a much deeper voice continued the conversation with her. “Is this Strix?”

“It is.”

“Good. I wanted to let you know your advice was perfect. She loved it.” There was a moment of silence over the phone, before he cleared his throat. “I, uh. I was in last week, shopping for my mom.”

“I’m sorry, but-“

“Burberry suit.”

“Oh! The hot one!” she exclaimed, and immediately dropped her face onto the desk. Before there was a time to correct herself, she heard him laughing on the other end.

“I got her an at-home spa kit, and she loved it.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Actually, there is. I have a date coming up, and I’d really like to surprise her with an outfit. She’s just about your size, and I trust your professional opinion, so just put together something you’d wear. I’ll come get it on Friday around noon. Does that work?”

“Of course. I can absolutely do that for you. Is there anything you have in mind?”

“Not really, just something nice.”

“Going somewhere fancy again?”

“Hopefully.”

“Alright, I’ll have that ready for you on Friday.”

“You didn’t ask my budget.”

She chuckled. “I’m going to find the most expensive things in this store. You’ll be paying my rent for the next few months.”

The man on the other end of the phone laughed. “I’ll see you on Friday, Strix.”

~~~~

The store bell rang, summoning the owner from the back room once more. The same black suit stood in front of the counter. He had changed his tie, combed his white hair, and chosen a cologne that complimented the sweet smell of snacks in the shop.

“It was Abraxas, right?”

He smiled and nodded.

Strix pulled a fancy paper bag from under the counter and set it in front of him. “Do you want me to go through and show you everything I picked out? You can change anything you don’t-“

“No, let it be a surprise. How much do I owe you?”

She rang through the the total, expecting and almost hoping to get a reaction to the high price. He didn’t even flinch as he pulled his card from his wallet.

“Oh, I need to ask you. What time do you normally get out on Friday nights?”

She looked him over curiously, with a raised eyebrow. “About 6:30.”

“Do you have plans?”

“Not really? Maybe going to a bar with some friends.”

He swiped his card in the machine, and slid the bag back across the counter closer to her. “Then I’ll pick you up here at 6:30.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait. Are you-“

“You did say you’re single, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then it’s official. I’m taking you to dinner. And I already bought you an entire outfit, so you can’t tell me you have nothing to wear.”


	2. Chapter 2

Time ticked past impossibly slowly. Every customer seemed to stay too long, and the gap between them stretched on forever. Hiding clocks was impossible with the point of sale logged into a computer, and the need to check her phone for important messages from wholesalers and customers. No matter how many times she paced around the small room, checked the back, or re-made hot chocolate, time refused to move any faster.

At the end if the day, she closed 20 minutes early. With no prior warning to the date she had after work, she did her best to get ready with what little she had. Product was taken off the shelves to fix up her make up, then marked as testers. Her favourite perfume was dusted over herself, and she did her very best to wash up in the sink of the employee only bathroom. The last 20 minutes went by faster than any 5 minute stretch from throughout the day. Before she knew it, there was a gentle knock on the locked door.

The woman finished fastening her heels, and turning off the lights, before hurrying to the front door. If she hadn’t been expecting it, the almost giant figure would have horrified her. Even knowing he was coming, seeing the man dressed in black standing in the darkness of the winter evening was unsettling.

Still, she fastened her coat up further, and stepped into the cold.

“You showed up,” she observed with an amused air to her voice.

“Of course I did. I’ve already spent all that money on this date, and we haven’t even eaten yet.”

Strix locked the door, and gave it a tug. “Well, I hope you plan to spend more. I might have forgotten my lunch today.”

When she turned away from the door she found a rather stern expression sitting in her date’s face. “Does that happen often?”

“Sometimes. You’re not the type to expect me to eat just salad, right?”

Abraxas placed a hand gently on her arm and began leading her toward the parked black car. “Not if you haven’t eaten all day.”

“I had cookies.”

“That doesn’t count.” He opened the back door of the vehicle, and helped her in. Beneath the long, white coat, all he could see of the outfit he had purchased were the rose gold high heels and a series of jewelled flowers clipped into her hair.

She sat down, and fastened her seatbelt as he walked around to the other side of the car. A strange man sat in the drivers seat, dressed in a relatively expensive suit. His eyes remained locked forward, as if the woman in the back seat didn’t even exist. She pouted at the thought, but soon enough the door opened and her date sat in the seat next to her.

“When do I get to see the outfit I bought you?”

Strix smiled, and chewed her lip. “You can see some of it at the restaurant. I thought you and your date had known each other for a while, so I picked out more than just a dress and accessories.”

He watched her blankly for a moment before turning a faint shade of pink. “You made me buy you underwear?”

“It’s lingerie actually, and if you can go the rest of the evening without talking about my ‘underwear’ maybe you’ll get to see it later.”

He cleared his throat, and motioned for the driver ahead of them to pull out of the parking spot. 

“I have to ask. Do you often ask random women out at work?”

“No, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and I really wanted to hear more about your big, complicated family.”

“If we go on more than one date you’ll probably start meeting them.”

Abraxas chuckled. “I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be reassuring or threatening.”

“A little bit of both, honestly. How about you tell me about your family.”

“For now the less you know, the better.”

“That’s a little ominous. What do you do for work?”

“I work for the family business. It’s a pretty big company, and hard to explain.”

She pulled her gloves off, and set them on her lap. Her hands ran over the leather set as she smiled and scrunched her nose teasingly. “So it‘s a pyramid scheme.”

A hint of a nervous smile took over his face. “Something like that.”

“And you work with your brothers?”

“Yes. My father’s practically retired at this point, and my oldest brother is taking over. So technically now I’m working for.” Almost like a nervous tick at the mention of his brother, he pulled his phone from his pocket and began to check through his messages.

“God, that sounds awful. I’m sorry if that’s mean, but-“

He laughed. “No, you’re right. It’s stressful.”

“I can’t imagine working for any of my siblings. I think I’d kill them all.”

He placed his hand on top of her, and patted it. “How many siblings do you have?”

“Four. Three are older, and a twin.”

“And they’re all-“

“Older brother and older sister are my adoptive mom’s kids. Another older brother and my twin are my mother’s kids. And Mama’s kids have an older half sister, and she has a casual thing going with my twin.”

“Wow. That’s messy.”

Strix laughed. “You’re telling me.”

“We don’t have to talk about them anymore tonight then. We can save that for when we’re mildly drunk on our fifth date.”

“It’s a date.”

She took his hand back in hers, pulling it away from the phone that he continued to scroll through, and squeezed it slightly. “When you get bad news it becomes really hard to stop checking, but if it’s really important you’ll get a phone call.”

Abraxas looked at her with a twisted mix of confusion and concern. “How can you tell?”

“You look like you’re looking for bad news.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, allowing herself to slide into the middle seat directly beside him. “And I know the feeling.”

The phone was slid back into his pocket, and played with her fingers. “I realize I barely know you, but I’m already so glad I met you.”

Using the collar of his coat, she pulled him down to kiss his cheek. “How do I know you don’t have three girlfriends that you said that too already.”

He sighed, almost in defeat. “I don’t have time for that many girlfriends. I almost had to cancel tonight for work.”

“That would have made a great impression.”

“Which is why I told my brother I’d make up the work tomorrow morning, or tonight.”

“Then I guess you won’t get to see everything you payed for. Gosh, I really hope you’re not into white lace or harnesses.”

He turned, for the first time since they since they entered the car, to fully face her. “You were really planning on sleeping with me on the first date?”

“Yeah. Unless you have a problem with that.”

“No! No. Not at all you just. You don’t seem like the type.”

Strix pursed her lips and squinted her eyes at him. “What type’?”

His brows furrowed, and his lips practically quivered as panic flashed across his eyes. “I didn’t mean. I just. You’re sweet and I thought-“

She laughed and patted his arm. “I can be both sweet and horny, Abraxas.”

“Oh look, we’re here,” he said quickly, despite the car being stopped at a red light. The woman beside him laughed, and weaved her fingers between his. They waited, listening to the calming music playing through the radio, until the driver drove through the intersection and pulled into the parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3

Time skip just bc I keep thinking about this.

Wide eyes surveyed the world they had entered. Through all the mystery and secrets surrounding the man’s job a very specific image had been built up in her mind, and what she found was nothing like it. Where she has been expecting to find pillars, tapestries, and hidden doorways, Strix found a relatively normal office building.

A man in a bright yellow suit greeted her in the lobby, or less greeted and more acknowledged her presence. He stood at a large desk with a plain white wall behind him. As he looked from his computer to the woman quickly approaching him his expression remained flat. His head tilted just enough to look down the length of his round nose at her.

“Can I help you?” he asked in a tone indicating just how clear it was that she didn’t belong.

She ignored the distain in his eyes, and leaned against the counter. “I’m here to see Abraxas.”

The man scoffed. His eyes scanned her, looking at the semi-sheer lace dress peeking out from beneath the sky blue coat, before he returned to his work at the computer. “Of course you are. Listen, Sweetheart. I don’t care how much he said he’d pay you; I can’t let you up to see him.”

She smiled and set a bright pink box down on the counter. “I’m flattered that you think I’m a sex worker, but I’m actually here to bring him some lunch.”

His head remained facing his computer, but his eyes drifted to watch her as he continued typing.

“Why would you bring him lunch?”

“Well. I’m his girlfriend.”

He stopped tying. For the first time since she walked in he stepped away from the keyboard to stand directly in front of her. The annoyance on his face was gone, replaced with a sly smile. “Girlfriend? How long have you two been seeing each other?”

“About two months?”

The man leaned his elbows on the counter, and rested his chin in his palms. “So you’ve slept with him already?”

“Mhm. On the first date.”

He gasped, and leaned in a little closer. “And he’s still seeing you? You must be really special.”

Her cheeks warmed, and she fiddled with the container in her hands.

“How did you find us?”

Strix chewed her cheek. “What do you mean?”

“There’s no way he told you where he works already. So, how did you figure out where he works?”

“I’m a single woman living alone in a big city. I have at least two friends who can find out anything about any man I meet. Have to make sure they’re not going to kill me and stuff my hair into a pillow.”

The man in the brilliant suit laughed. “That would be a waste. They’d get way more money settling your hair to a wig company. It’s beautiful.” He held his hand out to her just as she began to involuntarily play with her hair. “I like you. I’m Zmaj, and if you ever need more information on Rax just let me know.”

Strix’s smile widened. She took his hand and shook it.

“Take the elevator up to the 6th floor. Turn left, and keep going until you see the cute little secretary with pink flowers on his desk. Just tell him you’re Rax’s 12 o’clock but you’re a little early.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much.”

He waved her off as she hurried to the elevator. She bounced on the balls of her feet while waiting for the elevator, and paced excitedly back and forth in the small both as it rose.

Once again, her expectations were crushed as she stepped onto the designated floor. Where she had been expecting to find a wide, open floor filled with people in cubicles, she found a series of hallways. Carpet and paintings reminding her of a fancy hotel stretched out in all direction. As strong as the urge to wander around and explore was, she turned left and followed the wall. Both hands gripped the box to firmly to keep them from fidgeting, until she came across the vase of bright pink flowers.

She cleared her throat, moved the colourful box covered in bunnies behind her back, and stepped up to the man at the desk. “I’m here to see Rax,” she stated in as serious a tone as she could muster with a voice much deeper and flatter than her usual tone.

The secretary didn’t even bother to look up at her.

“He stepped out for a moment.”

“But-“ when she realized the pout in her tone she cleared her throat once more, and straightened her shoulders, “I know I’m a little early, but it’s extremely rude for him to keep me waiting.”

This time the secretary looked at her. “You’re his 12 o’clock,” he said as more of a statement than a question.

“Yes.”

“You are Jackson?”

The confidence in her smile faltered. “Uh, yes. You see, my parents were expecting a boy. They had already picked the name because-“

“I don’t actually care. Just wait a moment. He should be back soon.”

She left him to go back to his work, and paced around the small lobby area. A painting hung across from the secretary’s desk, an image of a forest and a small lake that felt both constricting and freeing. An indoor tree sat in the corner, next to a rather elegant wooden door.

“Strix?” a familiar voice that she hadn’t been expecting to hear asked from somewhere behind her.

A pit in her stomach told her not to turn around, but by that point there was no escaping. With a guilty smile she turned slowly to face the figure standing between her and the series of hallways.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” The man clothed in a loose button-up shirt and black dress pants pulled the pink box from her hands, and held it up out of her reach as he opened it.

“Yrian, give it back!” she demanded, an order he ignored. Instead, he pulled a chocolate-covered strawberry from one of the compartments and popped it into his mouth. “That’s not for you!” She did her best to grab it out of her hands, but the further she stretched the higher he held it.

“It is now. Why are you here?”

“That’s none of your business.” 

He picked a pice of wrap out of the box, and took a bite before putting the rest back. “Shouldn’t you be at the shop?”

“Shouldn’t you not be a dick?”

She chewed her cheek before punching him directly in the zipper. The man nearly twice her height groaned and doubled over, nearly dropping the box of food as he did. Strix snatched I from his hand, and placed the lid back on the container. She set it down safely on the desk of the secretary that sat silently watching the scene play out. It barely left her fingers when the ground disconnected from her feet.

Yrian collected himself just enough to lift her off her ground, and tuck her under his arm. “I’m taking you home.”

She kicked her legs and pushed on his arm. “I’m not a fucking child, Yrian. You can’t just pick me up. Put me down!”

Instead, he hoisted her onto his shoulder. She did her best to wiggle and fight his arm, until another body stepped around the corner and into view. There was no chance for her to say anything to greet him before he grabbed Yrian by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him directly into a closed fist. The grip on his shirt released only long enough to reposition itself, grabbing a bunch of Yrian’s shirt directly below his throat.

“Put her down, Yrian.”

The man in question cupped his nose with his feared hand, checking for any blood leaking from his nose, and repositioned Strix further on his shoulder.

“Wait, Abraxas-“

“No. I’m taking her with me, and you’re never going to see her again. Got it?” Yrian interrupted with a threat that came out far more ominous that his actual intentions.

Abraxas pulled his arm back to punch his coworker again. “Do not mess with this one Yrian.”

One second Strix was wrapped securely over a broad shoulder, the next she was dropped to the floor like a large bag of potting soil. Abraxas moved closer to check on her, but an arm raised between him and her stopped him.

“Get out of here. I’ll deal with you later,” he ordered as she picked herself up, his eyes never leaving Abraxas.

“I am a grown woman. I can make my own decisions.”

The secretary slowly picked up the phone and motioned for her to come behind the desk. Instead she huffed and stepped between the two much taller men. “I don’t know what’s going on, but-“ 

Yrian grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way. Abraxas hit him.

“Abraxas!” she gasped, trying to sound as scolding as she could in all the confusion.

Yrian grabbed his suit jacket, and punched him in return.

“Yrian!” she yelled, and once again tried to insert herself in the middle of the conflict. Once again, Yrian moved her out of the way, a little more forceful this time.

“Abraxas, you don’t know what you’re getting in the middle of. Stay out of it.”

He shoved Yrian back against the wall. His arm wound back with intent to hit him, but Yrian ducked out of the way just in time for a closed fist to collide with the wall.

“I know exactly what I’m getting in the middle of. Everyone knows what to expect from you. We all let it go. But this one is off limits.”

Yrian hit him in the side, and narrowly missed an upper-cut to his jaw.

“Boys!” Strix yelled, but neither payed her any mind.

They continued throwing punches and pushing her out of the way, until an even larger figure loomed beside them. No matter how Strix pulled at them or tried to get between them, stopping their fight seemed impossible until the third party approached and smacked Yrian on the back of the head.

“Why are you wasting time? You have work to be doing.”

He stepped back from the younger man he had been brawling with and re-adjusted his shirt after having been tugged and pulled on. “I was coming to ask Rax a question, but then I saw her here trying to get in to see him.”

All eyes turned to the woman standing off to the side. She have them a slightly nervous smile. “I was just-“

“Who is she?”

“My girlfriend,” Abraxas answered,

“Absolutely fucking not,” Yrian objected.

“That’s not any of your business,” Abraxas argued back.

Yrian lifted his foot to step closer again, but was pulled back by the scruff of his shirt, next to the tallest of the three men.

“Actually, it is. I have every right to tell you to stop fucking my little sister.”

Abraxas nearly choked on the air in his lungs. In that instant he looked like he had come across a near-death experience; a shocked expression void of colour turned to Strix. “That’s. Oh my god. Yrian is the older brother? Fucking Yrian? You grew up with that? That’s. Eugh. There’s nothing wrong with you!” he added quickly, interrupting his own train of thoughts. “I just. Yrian, really?”

“Yeah. And my mom would kill me if she ever found out Strix was getting mixed up in all this, so I’m going to take her home and make sure-“

“Yrian,” the near-giant in a perfectly tailored black suit interrupted, “Go back to work.”

“No. Not until I get her out of here, and you tell your brother that he’s not allowed to-“

His ramblings were cut short by the larger man dragging him into the hallway. He whispered something that Strix strained to hear, and Yrian stormed off with his hands shoved deep into his pocket and his head down.

“I can’t believe all this time you were talking about Yrian,” Abraxas muttered as he finally took the chance to check on her. “What are you doing here anyways?”

She pointed to the container still sitting on the secretary’s desk. “I wanted to surprise you and bring you lunch. Then Yrian showed up. I didn’t know you worked together.”

“So, you’re his sister,” the larger man mused as he returned to the conversation, “he doesn’t talk much about his family so I never thought I’d get the chance to meet any of them.”

“Well, we’re not actually related, but yeah, his moms adopted me.”

“Moms?” he repeated with a grin. “I’m Draq.” He took her hand, and shook it.

“Strix.”

Draw leaned down, nearly doubling over to speak to her, a simple action that, whether it was meant to or not, made her feel even smaller and frustrated. “Is there any chance I’d be able to get some embarrassing photos of him?”

Her eyes narrowed slight as she straightened and stretched her back to appear as tall as she possibly could. “Yrian might be a dick, but I don’t think I could do that to him.”

He stood upright, and turned to his younger brother. “Take a quick lunch, but I need you to take a meeting for me,” he stated in an empty tone before leaving.

Almost immediately after, Abraxas scooped Strix up in his arms and kissed her cheek. “How are you so sweet when you grew up with that?”

She cupped his cheeks and kissed his nose. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Abraxas picked up the container, and carried both his lunch and his dessert into his office. “How’d you find my office?”

“Zmaj gave me directions after I told him I was your girlfriend.”

He smiled, and locked the door to his office. “Sometimes I wonder why Draq keeps him around, but I guess he is good at what he does.” He sat down behind his desk, keeping Strix on his lap as he set the container next to his phone. Rather than opening the container, he unfastened the remaining buttons of his per coat.

“Shouldn’t you quickly have lunch if you only have a little bit of time?” she asked with a smile as he pulled the winter jacket off her shoulder to reveal the thin lace beneath it.

“I can eat lunch anytime. There’s something else here that looks, and smells, more delicious anyways.”

She laughed and kiss him as he lifted her to sit her on the edge of his desk. “It’s a new perfume we just got in the shop a couple days ago. You like it?”

He nodded as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “My favourite so far.”


	4. Chapter 4

A pair of small black heels tapped back and forth across the tile floor of the shop. A slow day did nothing to help the anxieties of what she was almost certain would happen. All she had was time to think, and a call to a friend in attempt for solace was giving her anything but.

“Babe, you’re giving him too much power over you,” the voice of her friend, partially drowned out by the sound of the nail salon in the background, came through over phone she carried as she paced. “If he doesn’t care enough about you to not give you more notice, you shouldn’t care what he’s doing. Besides, you’ve only been together for a few months. He’s nothing.”

“I don’t know. He’s just been so... perfect.”

“Almost too perfect?”

Strix sighed and ran a hand into her hair, pulling even more strands out of the already messy ponytail. “Yeah, maybe. You think it was all an act?”

“Your brother did try to keep you away from him right?”

“Yeah, but Yrian’s also a piece of shit a lot of the time.”

Her friend started, then cleared her throat and laughed in the way she always did when trying to cover something. “Did you try asking Yrian about it?”

“Yeah. He said Mama told him not to tell me anything about it.”

“That’s not suspicious.”

“Fuck, I know.” Her pacing stopped, only so that she could hit her forehead against a pare section of wall. “Gin, what would you do?”

“I’d key his car. Or steal his credit cards. Maybe both.”

She laughed, weak and tired in the midst of all the frustration, but at least it was something. “Well, I honestly don’t think he’d notice if I spent a couple million dollars. So I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”

“It’s great. You can go on a first class flight to Paris, meet a sexy Frenchman, and get married, all with your ex’s money.”

Strix turned to lean her back against the wall, and slid down to sit in her feet. “I don’t want him to be my ex though.”

“Give him one last chance, okay? Then you’re done. I’ll take you out shopping, and dancing. We can try go to a rave and try some molly, and if the night ends right maybe we’ll end up in an orgy.”

She chuckled and rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup even more than she already had. “You just really want an excuse to have fuck me, don’t you?”

“Is it that obvious? Hey! How about we sneak into his office and I eat you out on his desk.”

“No,” she sighed, “he’d probably like that.”

“Fuck, that’s true. Well, Hun, I’ve gotta go so I can pick out the gems. Call me as soon as you know what’s going on tonight.”

“I promise.”

The call ended, leaving Strix alone once more. She returned to pacing back and forth, and finding any possible way to keep her hands busy. Weeks passed in the span of an hour. Then, her phone chimed. She scrambled to the counter to pull it out of her purse, to find the message she had feared the most. 

“Can’t make it tonight. Sorry.”

Entirely involuntary of her consciousness, her hand threw her phone across the room. Only one train of thoughts circled through her head as she locked the door for the day: she needed answers. She picked a new outfit from the racks, and disappeared into the back room to adjust her hair and makeup. The shorts and blouse she had been wearing were replaced with a bralette, and a skirt. She threw a quick sign up in the door, letting any potential customers know that she had stepped out to deal with some personal business, and left.

The drive to the office building was filled with soaring anxiety, made worse by not having a phone with her, and the fact that no one had any idea where she was going. If something went wrong, it could go horribly wrong, but there would be no turning back. She chewed at her cheeks, actively trying not to bite a hole straight through her face, but focussed on getting answers.

The first step inside the building amplified the feeling of fear. The same man behind the front desk, now in a neon blue suit, looked up at her with a clear amount of distress. “If you’re here to see Rax again he’s not-“

Her hands slapped down on the desk in front of him. “Is he here or not?”

He looked taken aback. His brow furrowed as he looked her over. “Lovers quarrel?”

“He keeps cancelling our dates, and avoiding me. I want answers before I decide my friend it right and I should just smash the windows of his car.”

He shook his head. “As much as I’d love to watch this drama unfold, I really don’t think-“

“Fine,” she shrugged, with stiff actions that made it clear she cared more about what he was saying than she wanted to let on, “I’ll just let myself up.”

The man did nothing more to stop her, and returned to his work. He said nothing else to her, and made no active attempt to call security, no matter how easy it may have been. As she approached the elevator, he even opened it for her to let her in; any trouble he could get in would almost certainly be worth what the security tapes would capture.

Strix tapped her feet impatiently on the elevator, and stepped off even before the doors were fully opened. She marched down empty hallways without any hesitation. Even as the secretary sitting at his desk stood, and tried to stop her, she continued on. He even tried to grab her arm, but it was too late.

She pushed the door open, already reciting the speech she had prepared. “I don’t know what games you’re playing but you need to realize that-“ The words she had been repeating to herself since she got the text stopped abruptly. He wasn’t sitting at his desk, ignoring her for his work. There was no other person sitting in his lap, taking up his attention.

Abraxas sat on a footrest in the centre of the room. He wasn’t alone, but the person with him wasn’t much company. His jacket, and dress shirt were both off revealing a series of gauze and tape secured to his shoulder. A dark black eye and a swollen lip stood out nearly just as much as the tweezers and scissors being used to remove stitches from his forehead.

“What the fuck happened?”

The man holding the tools stopped working. He looked from Abraxas, to their sudden guest, and back.

“I tried to stop her,” the secretary interjected quickly.

Abraxas sighed. “Strix, this isn’t a good time.”

“No.” She closed the door, and pulled the large desk chair from behind his desk and set it in front of him. “You’ve been avoiding me without explanation. Now I want explanations. What happened?”

“I got into a, disagreement.”

Strix pointed to the small traces of blood that had seeped through the old gauze over his shoulder. “You got stabbed because of a disagreement?”

“I wasn’t stabbed,” he objected sincerely. “And now really isn’t the time to do this.”

“Who was it?”

He paused, his head tilting and his eyebrows furrowing as if he was trying to make sure he heard her right. “I don’t know what-“

“I’m going to kick their ass. Who was it?”

He smiled. When he caught the expression in her eyes he did his best not to laugh, but the smiled stayed. “That’s very sweet, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Nope, I’ve already decided.”

“Strix, really. It’s okay. It’s been taken care of.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. The doctor continued working on the stitches, leaving Abraxas to focus on not showing any visible signs of the pain they brought. Strix leaned back in the chair and played with her skirt.

“Did you really cancel on me because you got into a fight, or do you not want to see me anymore? Because it’d be a lot easier to just tell me.”

“What? No.” Making sure not to move his upper half for fear of ripping open a stitch, he used his foot to pull the rolling chair closer. “Of course I still want to see you, Strix. I just-“ he took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Why not? I could have brought you soup, and helped you change you bandages.” The soft, sincere air of her voice hardened. “If this is one of those,” she changed her tone to mimic his the best she could, “ ‘Me can’t look week. Me strong. Me man. Me protect.’ things, you know I don’t care about that right? Have you seen me?” She scrunched her face and flexed her arms as hard as she could. “A 12 year-old boy could probably beat me at a fight.”

Abraxas chuckled through his nose, and took her hand with his good arm. He pulled her forward, off the chair, and into his lap. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Oh yeah, because ghosting me makes me worry a lot less than telling me you got into a fight. What was this fight even about? It’s not like you owe anyone money.”

The doctor finished working on his head, and moved around him to begin removing the bandage from his arm, and freeing Abraxas to lean his head against the s small woman in his lap. “It’s more complicated than that.”

Strix frowned and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Does this happen often?”

He hesitated. “More often than the regular person.”

“Does it have anything to do with your family? Is that why you don’t really tell me about them?”

Abraxas didn’t answer.

She huffed, and let go of his face. “Was Yrian right to tell me to not come around here?”

He looked over at the bandages being pulled from his arm, and chewed his lip.

Strix crossed her arms and sat upright. “I don’t know what this big secret is that everyone’s trying to keep from me, but if I’m going to be a serious part of your life I need to actually know what you do. Especially if I have to be prepared for this type of thing to keep happening.”

The last piece of gauze came off, revealing the circular wound that had healed over, and been ripped open multiple times.

“You were shot?!” Strix demanded, much louder than she had intended. She leaned in to get a closer look, but his good arm wrapped around her waist pulled her back against his chest. “Who shot you? Why were you shot? Why the fuck aren’t you in a hospital? Oh my god, you should be in a hospital. Did you get shot anywhere else? Wait should I be in your lap am I straining you?”

He rested his chin on the top of her head, effectively wrapping himself around her. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“No, if I’m going to keep being your girlfriend I need to know about these things. What if you get shot and die? Am I just going to go about my life until fucking Yrian finally tells me two weeks later that, what, you got into a ‘disagreement’?” She wriggled in his arm, but the more she pulled the more secure he held her.

“She sounds like Alu,” the doctor commented, half under his breath.

That appeared to be the final straw. Abraxas gave him just enough time to put a bandage over the wound, before pointing towards the door. “Can you give us some privacy?”

The doctor looked at him for a moment, before shrugging it off and walking out. Strix sat quietly, even after the door closer and they were completely alone. Abraxas also took a moment to collect his thoughts, before loosening his grip to let her turn to face him.

“If I tell you this, I need to know that you aren’t going to use this information against me.”

Strix took his hand. “That sounds really serious. What do you want? Some kind of blackmail you can use against me?”

He kissed her forehead. “Maybe you do actually spend too much time with Yrian. No, that’s not the type of relationship I want to have with you. I trust you, so please don’t betray that trust.”

She gave him a soft smile, and kissed him, careful to avoid the split lip as she did. “If it’s that big of a deal to you, I don’t want to force you to tell me until you think it’s the right time, okay? Just promise me you’ll tell me next time something like this happens? I want to help take care of you.”

“Okay, if it happens again, I promise to tell you.”

“Thank you, Abraxas. Now, I’ll let you have your privacy,” she kissed his cheek, and began getting up off his lap. She didn’t get far before he pulled her back down.

“At least stay until he’s finished checking me over. Maybe we can get some lunch after.”

She smiled, and hugged his neck. “I’d love that.”


	5. Chapter 5

A pair of small black heels tapped back and forth across the tile floor of the shop. A slow day did nothing to help the anxieties of what she was almost certain would happen. All she had was time to think, and a call to a friend in attempt for solace was giving her anything but.

“Babe, you’re giving him too much power over you,” the voice of her friend, partially drowned out by the sound of the nail salon in the background, came through over phone she carried as she paced. “If he doesn’t care enough about you to not give you more notice, you shouldn’t care what he’s doing. Besides, you’ve only been together for a few months. He’s nothing.”

“I don’t know. He’s just been so... perfect.”

“Almost too perfect?”

Strix sighed and ran a hand into her hair, pulling even more strands out of the already messy ponytail. “Yeah, maybe. You think it was all an act?”

“Your brother did try to keep you away from him right?”

“Yeah, but Yrian’s also a piece of shit a lot of the time.”

Her friend started, then cleared her throat and laughed in the way she always did when trying to cover something. “Did you try asking Yrian about it?”

“Yeah. He said Mama told him not to tell me anything about it.”

“That’s not suspicious.”

“Fuck, I know.” Her pacing stopped, only so that she could hit her forehead against a pare section of wall. “Gin, what would you do?”

“I’d key his car. Or steal his credit cards. Maybe both.”

She laughed, weak and tired in the midst of all the frustration, but at least it was something. “Well, I honestly don’t think he’d notice if I spent a couple million dollars. So I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.”

“It’s great. You can go on a first class flight to Paris, meet a sexy Frenchman, and get married, all with your ex’s money.”

Strix turned to lean her back against the wall, and slid down to sit in her feet. “I don’t want him to be my ex though.”

“Give him one last chance, okay? Then you’re done. I’ll take you out shopping, and dancing. We can try go to a rave and try some molly, and if the night ends right maybe we’ll end up in an orgy.”

She chuckled and rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup even more than she already had. “You just really want an excuse to have fuck me, don’t you?”

“Is it that obvious? Hey! How about we sneak into his office and I eat you out on his desk.”

“No,” she sighed, “he’d probably like that.”

“Fuck, that’s true. Well, Hun, I’ve gotta go so I can pick out the gems. Call me as soon as you know what’s going on tonight.”

“I promise.”

The call ended, leaving Strix alone once more. She returned to pacing back and forth, and finding any possible way to keep her hands busy. Weeks passed in the span of an hour. Then, her phone chimed. She scrambled to the counter to pull it out of her purse, to find the message she had feared the most. 

“Can’t make it tonight. Sorry.”

Entirely involuntary of her consciousness, her hand threw her phone across the room. Only one train of thoughts circled through her head as she locked the door for the day: she needed answers. She picked a new outfit from the racks, and disappeared into the back room to adjust her hair and makeup. The shorts and blouse she had been wearing were replaced with a bralette, and a skirt. She threw a quick sign up in the door, letting any potential customers know that she had stepped out to deal with some personal business, and left.

The drive to the office building was filled with soaring anxiety, made worse by not having a phone with her, and the fact that no one had any idea where she was going. If something went wrong, it could go horribly wrong, but there would be no turning back. She chewed at her cheeks, actively trying not to bite a hole straight through her face, but focussed on getting answers.

The first step inside the building amplified the feeling of fear. The same man behind the front desk, now in a neon blue suit, looked up at her with a clear amount of distress. “If you’re here to see Rax again he’s not-“

Her hands slapped down on the desk in front of him. “Is he here or not?”

He looked taken aback. His brow furrowed as he looked her over. “Lovers quarrel?”

“He keeps cancelling our dates, and avoiding me. I want answers before I decide my friend it right and I should just smash the windows of his car.”

He shook his head. “As much as I’d love to watch this drama unfold, I really don’t think-“

“Fine,” she shrugged, with stiff actions that made it clear she cared more about what he was saying than she wanted to let on, “I’ll just let myself up.”

The man did nothing more to stop her, and returned to his work. He said nothing else to her, and made no active attempt to call security, no matter how easy it may have been. As she approached the elevator, he even opened it for her to let her in; any trouble he could get in would almost certainly be worth what the security tapes would capture.

Strix tapped her feet impatiently on the elevator, and stepped off even before the doors were fully opened. She marched down empty hallways without any hesitation. Even as the secretary sitting at his desk stood, and tried to stop her, she continued on. He even tried to grab her arm, but it was too late.

She pushed the door open, already reciting the speech she had prepared. “I don’t know what games you’re playing but you need to realize that-“ The words she had been repeating to herself since she got the text stopped abruptly. He wasn’t sitting at his desk, ignoring her for his work. There was no other person sitting in his lap, taking up his attention.

Abraxas sat on a footrest in the centre of the room. He wasn’t alone, but the person with him wasn’t much company. His jacket, and dress shirt were both off revealing a series of gauze and tape secured to his shoulder. A dark black eye and a swollen lip stood out nearly just as much as the tweezers and scissors being used to remove stitches from his forehead.

“What the fuck happened?”

The man holding the tools stopped working. He looked from Abraxas, to their sudden guest, and back.

“I tried to stop her,” the secretary interjected quickly.

Abraxas sighed. “Strix, this isn’t a good time.”

“No.” She closed the door, and pulled the large desk chair from behind his desk and set it in front of him. “You’ve been avoiding me without explanation. Now I want explanations. What happened?”

“I got into a, disagreement.”

Strix pointed to the small traces of blood that had seeped through the old gauze over his shoulder. “You got stabbed because of a disagreement?”

“I wasn’t stabbed,” he objected sincerely. “And now really isn’t the time to do this.”

“Who was it?”

He paused, his head tilting and his eyebrows furrowing as if he was trying to make sure he heard her right. “I don’t know what-“

“I’m going to kick their ass. Who was it?”

He smiled. When he caught the expression in her eyes he did his best not to laugh, but the smiled stayed. “That’s very sweet, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Nope, I’ve already decided.”

“Strix, really. It’s okay. It’s been taken care of.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. The doctor continued working on the stitches, leaving Abraxas to focus on not showing any visible signs of the pain they brought. Strix leaned back in the chair and played with her skirt.

“Did you really cancel on me because you got into a fight, or do you not want to see me anymore? Because it’d be a lot easier to just tell me.”

“What? No.” Making sure not to move his upper half for fear of ripping open a stitch, he used his foot to pull the rolling chair closer. “Of course I still want to see you, Strix. I just-“ he took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Why not? I could have brought you soup, and helped you change you bandages.” The soft, sincere air of her voice hardened. “If this is one of those,” she changed her tone to mimic his the best she could, “ ‘Me can’t look week. Me strong. Me man. Me protect.’ things, you know I don’t care about that right? Have you seen me?” She scrunched her face and flexed her arms as hard as she could. “A 12 year-old boy could probably beat me at a fight.”

Abraxas chuckled through his nose, and took her hand with his good arm. He pulled her forward, off the chair, and into his lap. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Oh yeah, because ghosting me makes me worry a lot less than telling me you got into a fight. What was this fight even about? It’s not like you owe anyone money.”

The doctor finished working on his head, and moved around him to begin removing the bandage from his arm, and freeing Abraxas to lean his head against the s small woman in his lap. “It’s more complicated than that.”

Strix frowned and cupped his cheeks in her hands. “Does this happen often?”

He hesitated. “More often than the regular person.”

“Does it have anything to do with your family? Is that why you don’t really tell me about them?”

Abraxas didn’t answer.

She huffed, and let go of his face. “Was Yrian right to tell me to not come around here?”

He looked over at the bandages being pulled from his arm, and chewed his lip.

Strix crossed her arms and sat upright. “I don’t know what this big secret is that everyone’s trying to keep from me, but if I’m going to be a serious part of your life I need to actually know what you do. Especially if I have to be prepared for this type of thing to keep happening.”

The last piece of gauze came off, revealing the circular wound that had healed over, and been ripped open multiple times.

“You were shot?!” Strix demanded, much louder than she had intended. She leaned in to get a closer look, but his good arm wrapped around her waist pulled her back against his chest. “Who shot you? Why were you shot? Why the fuck aren’t you in a hospital? Oh my god, you should be in a hospital. Did you get shot anywhere else? Wait should I be in your lap am I straining you?”

He rested his chin on the top of her head, effectively wrapping himself around her. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“No, if I’m going to keep being your girlfriend I need to know about these things. What if you get shot and die? Am I just going to go about my life until fucking Yrian finally tells me two weeks later that, what, you got into a ‘disagreement’?” She wriggled in his arm, but the more she pulled the more secure he held her.

“She sounds like Alu,” the doctor commented, half under his breath.

That appeared to be the final straw. Abraxas gave him just enough time to put a bandage over the wound, before pointing towards the door. “Can you give us some privacy?”

The doctor looked at him for a moment, before shrugging it off and walking out. Strix sat quietly, even after the door closer and they were completely alone. Abraxas also took a moment to collect his thoughts, before loosening his grip to let her turn to face him.

“If I tell you this, I need to know that you aren’t going to use this information against me.”

Strix took his hand. “That sounds really serious. What do you want? Some kind of blackmail you can use against me?”

He kissed her forehead. “Maybe you do actually spend too much time with Yrian. No, that’s not the type of relationship I want to have with you. I trust you, so please don’t betray that trust.”

She gave him a soft smile, and kissed him, careful to avoid the split lip as she did. “If it’s that big of a deal to you, I don’t want to force you to tell me until you think it’s the right time, okay? Just promise me you’ll tell me next time something like this happens? I want to help take care of you.”

“Okay, if it happens again, I promise to tell you.”

“Thank you, Abraxas. Now, I’ll let you have your privacy,” she kissed his cheek, and began getting up off his lap. She didn’t get far before he pulled her back down.

“At least stay until he’s finished checking me over. Maybe we can get some lunch after.”

She smiled, and hugged his neck. “I’d love that.”


End file.
